Seems like our lawmakers have finally gotten back to work—even some Republicans! Suddenly there are a number of new bills to research and act on. 

Action Items to choose from (or do all of them: your choice!) Scroll down to the matching number of your option: 

1. Stop Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores 
2. Support H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act 
3. Fight for Fair Social Security 
4. Oppose the government’s plan to hold back SNAP money from blue states 
5. Support the Experts Act to halt corporate corruption in government rulemaking and elevate the public’s support for strong safeguards 
6. Support the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act 
7. Support the Toxic Substances Control Act 
8. Support the renewal of the NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement 
9. Send a letter to our congresspeople to urge them to stop Medicare from using AI to deny care 
10. 2 Resistbot letters to send 

Reminder: When you call vs when you email via our reps’ websites (best way to contact them in writing), don’t forget to begin with: “Hi, my name is [name] and I’m a constituent calling from [zip code]. That is important, because if they don’t know you’re actually a constituent, your opinion will be ignored. 

Contact info: Angus King             
DC: (202) 224-5344
Augusta: (207) 622-8292 

Susan Collins         
DC: (202) 224-2523 
Augusta: (207) 622-8414
Bangor: (207) 945-0417

Chellie Pingree      
DC: (202) 225-6116
Portland: (207) 774-5019  
Waterville: (207) 873-5713  

Jared Golden         
DC: (202) 225-6306 
Bangor: (207) 249-7400
Caribou: (207) 492-6009 
Lewiston: (207) 241-6767

Find your State Representative: 
By name: Here
By district: Here

(Please note that for those of you receiving this email who are not represented by Senators or House members in our district, I have to leave it up to you to find the contact info for your own representatives.)

Actions 

1) Stop Trump’s and Hegseth’s illegal warmongering off Venezuela’s shores: 

    Democrat Senators Tim Kaine, Adam Schiff, and Chuck Schumer, along with Republican Senator Rand Paul, have filed a bipartisan war powers resolution to prevent the United States from using the U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities with Venezuela without congressional approval. The resolution directs President Trump to cease using the military “unless specifically authorized by a declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military force.” Contact Senators King and Collins to support the resolution. 

2)  Support H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act:  
    Representative Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) has introduced a bill (H.R. 6390, the Make Housing Affordable and Defend Democracy Act) to rescind certain immigration enforcement funds and amend the Internal Revenue Code to provide for new credits related to expanding access to housing. This legislation would take the $175 billion given to ICE and put it instead toward making housing affordable for working Americans. As ICE is terrorizing more and more communities, the same communities are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. That’s just wrong. Our tax dollars should be helping Americans, not attacking and kidnapping them. Contact Jared Golden and urge him to take a stand and co-sponsor this bill, even if he thinks it won’t pass.  
 

3) Fight for Fair Social Security: 
   Senator Warren and House Representatives Larson and Horsford just introduced the bicameral Social Security Emergency Inflation Relief Act to provide a $200/month emergency increase to Social Security checks until July 2026. Medicare Part B premiums are rising by nearly 10% next year, yet Social Security recipients have received only a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment, amounting to just $56 per month. Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to stand with senior citizens by co-sponsoring this bill. 
 

4) Oppose the government’s plan to hold back SNAP money from blue states: 
     Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the Trump administration will block Democratic-controlled states from accessing billions of dollars they need to run their SNAP programs unless governors turn over their states’ benefits rolls to the federal government. The information they’re demanding includes vast quantities of identifying information on the over 42 million monthly participants, including names, addresses, when an individual enrolled in SNAP and whether they are still enrolled. (Per the Washington Post, it’s unclear if Rollins has the authority to demand that data, and the request could violate recipients’ privacy rights. Historically, no federal agency has required states to share this amount of private data with the federal government; current practice is for states to share only randomized samples. ) Twenty-two states, including Maine (Go, Maine!), refused to comply and sued the USDA.  
    Rollins claimed that the data from the complying states showed 186,000 dead people receiving benefits and 500,000 people receiving double benefits, and said that “more than 120 people” have been arrested on SNAP fraud. Makes me wonder: Over 600,000 supposed fraudulent benefits were paid and only 120 people have been arrested? That enormous amount of “waste, fraud, and abuse” (the constant refrain of the administration) is shocking. I’m also wondering why they need this information after DOGE supposedly got access to so much private information already. Why don’t they just demand that Musk turn over the data his minions mined from the government systems? 
    Contact Senators King and Collins, and House Representative Jared Golden to demand that Rollins and the USDA stop politicizing hunger, cease their demand for personal information that the federal government has no right to, and pay the blue states the administrative monies they are supposed to receive to run their SNAP programs. 
 

5) Support the Experts Act to halt corporate corruption in government rulemaking and elevate the public’s support for strong safeguards: 
   Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Pramila Jayapal have introduced a bicameral bill (simultaneously in both parts of Congress) called the Experts Act (S. 3210; H.R. 6145), which would reform the rules for federal rule making by modernizing the process federal agencies use to develop vital safeguards like those that provide clean air and water, safe products, healthy workplaces, fair pay, and truth in lending, to name just a few. Formerly titled the Stop Corporate Capture Act, the legislation would achieve key improvements to the rulemaking process by lifting up the voices of the American people and closing loopholes that favor corrupt corporations and their lobbyists. 
   Contact Senators King and Collins and Representative Golden and push them to co-sponsor this bill.  
 

6) Support the Stop Ballroom Bribery Act: 
Senator Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Robert Garcia have introduced a bicameral bill called The Stop Ballroom Bribery Act (S.3191 and H.R. 6085) that would restrict donations for certain public projects linked to the President or Vice President, particularly from entities involved in litigation or seeking contracts with the federal government. Trump’s corrupt ballroom project is allowing companies he’s doing business with to funnel money his way. Contact Senators King and Collins to ask them to co-sponsor this bill in the Senate, and Representative Golden to co-sponsor the House version. 
 

7) Support the Toxic Substances Control Act: 
     In 2016, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was updated to reduce exposure to chemicals linked to cancer and chronic diseases. TSCA empowers states to ban chemicals like PFAS. The law prioritizes human health over corporate profits and has banned deadly solvents like trichloroethylene (TCE) and methylene chloride. States are already spending billions in taxpayer dollars cleaning up PFAS contamination—prevention is the only real solution.  
    But now the chemical lobby is pushing hard to weaken that law. Contact Senators King and Collins and Rep. Golden to tell them that this successful law should not be changed. You can personalize and send a letter to your congresspeople and Brooke Rollins, head of the USDA here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/take-action-to-protect-the-toxic-substances-control-act 
 

8) Support the renewal of the NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement: 
The NewStart Nuclear Armed Forces Agreement has been a part of a decades-long norm of limiting the deployment of deadly nuclear weapons. Its expiration in 2026 and current lack of enforcement makes it a top priority for renewal. Please join WPSR in contacting your members of Congress to join the NewSTART Arms control Resolution, H. Res 100 introduced by Representative Bill Foster and S. Res 61 introduced by Senator Ed Markey. Sign here. 
 

9) Send a letter to our congresspeople to urge them to stop Medicare from using AI to deny care: 
     A recent Senate subcommittee report on the use of AI to review prior authorizations reported that during the period that UnitedHealthcare, Humana, and CVS adopted AI tools, denials of authorization increased by anywhere from 54% to 108%, depending on the insurer. Plus, despite insurers’ claims about the bottom line benefits of AI review, the Senate study also found that patients with insurers utilizing AI will see their premiums rise $21.50/month from 2025 to 2026. So Medicare enrollees will be paying more for less. 
     You can personalize and send the letter from https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stop-medicare-from-using-ai-to-deny-healthcare 
 

10) 2 Resistbot letters to send: 
– urging Congress to immediately oppose the Trump Regime’s rollback of federal fuel-efficiency standards. Send it by texting SIGN PTYBKD to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

– urging Congress to take immediate action to stop the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s new effort to undo the Biden-era rule that keeps medical debt off credit reports. That rule gave millions of Americans a fair chance to recover financially after illness or injury by preventing medical bills, often caused by emergencies or billing errors, from wrecking their credit scores. Repealing it would punish people simply for getting sick and hand power back to credit bureaus and debt collectors. We want our congresspeople to  speak out publicly, support legislation to preserve the CFPB’s medical debt rule, and ensure that medical debt stays off credit reports permanently. No one should lose their financial future because of a hospital bill. Text SIGN PDQVGT to 50409, or to @Resistbot on Apple Messages, Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram. 

Yours in Civic Action, 

Bold Coast Civic Alliance